Michael & Liz are Bloggable

Have you ever heard of this club? U.S. Running Streak Association

The concept "is to run at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one's own body power". If you do that for 1 year, you become a member of the organization and they put your name on the website. I don't think I can make it for 1 year, but I'm going to try and do it for the entire month of August.

This is going to be a crazy hard challenge. I don't like running in the mornings on work days because I already get up so early, so during the week I'll do most of my running at the gym since it's still very hot outside in the afternoon. It's not going to be easy on the days that I'm busy either. Sometimes it's tough to fit in exercise into your day and as easy as 1 mile sounds, it's still will be an inconvenience on some days.

I'm sure there will be nights where I'm sitting here at 9PM thinking "oh crap! I forgot to run". That's going to be tough to get up the motivation to get out there. On those nights, I'll just throw on some running clothes and maybe take Gryffin out there with me. I've always wanted to see how he could do with running if I brought him along.. Daisy is too much of a wanderer to pay attention to running the whole time, but I think Gryff could do it.


I bet most of these people have really nice treadmills, I can see how that would be a huge help with this type of challenge.

The reason I'm doing this is to use the challenge to kick start my running again. I've taken a little bit of a break in July from running and have only done about 30 miles in the whole month. I figure in this challenge I'll probably do about 100 miles in August and that's what I need to get back into it.

I'll post an update soon on my July Challenge of no burgers or fries. It's been really really easy. There were a few occasions where it was just inconvenient, but it made me realize how much I actually don't have those things on a regular basis.

In college I did a ton of website development including creating a website for the Dean of Engineering (he let the domain and hosting plan expire and it got deleted) as well as creating and managing my fraternity's website( linked here ). It's still running but has been VERY neglected over the last 6 years (holy crap 6 years) and isn't quite as stable or consistent as it used to be.  Since college though I've taken a very long break from web work (outside of my full-time job which I dabble in) until last Fall.

This hasn't really been public knowledge, but last September I started doing some side jobs for a website company. I was either working on filling out content on already built sites or creating designs for new sites. After a while I struggled to find time to do anything and told them that I just couldn't do it. I really enjoyed working on the sites, but since I work on computers all day at work, the motivation to come home and continue to sit at a computer was just not there.

Well this past February I was approached by a woman named Kathy Wood, who goes to our church, to possibly help out with her non-profit organization called "Hangin' on Faith". The organization is designed to help inspire and encourage people going through difficult times using the Bible and scripture as the guide. Kathy has her own inspiring story that is worth reading on the site. Their website needed some updates and assistance. She had gotten my name from the guy who I had worked with before and wanted to see if I was interested in helping her site. At my full-time job, I'm occasionally referred to as the guy "who can't say no", so of course I offered to help.

It was clear from the start that I was either going to struggle maintaining what was currently there or I had to build a new site. It's frustrating to me to have to work around poorly constructed HTML code. I'd spend more time trying to fix what I broke with new code than I would improving the site. I'm happy to just "make it work", but if I was going to help, I might as well give it my all.

So in February I started building a new site. It probably took a lot longer than it should have, but between an indoor soccer league, 3 softball leagues, and marathon training (and not to mention having a life as a husband and homeowner), my time was stretched pretty thin. But last weekend the new website finally launched and I'm psyched to have it live. Here is a link to the new site.

For any of the dorks out there, the website is all HTML and PHP and I wrote all the code in Wordpad. GASP! Wordpad!? I know, but I hate most code editors and the code is really simple, so I use what is easiest and quickest. I created all the images using a photoshop-ish software and there is also 3 backend databases for the Stories, Newsletters, and Scriptures that are called with MySQL. I could go on and on about all the features I've added or plan to soon, but that would be boring. Suffice it to say, this site is as stable as I could make it and so far the reviews are all fairly positive.

So far there's only 2 things that bother me on the new site. I don't like how bubbly I made the left navigation links. They are just too bubbly and out of place. So eventually I plan on fixing those with something more slick and discrete. The other thing is that the product page is pretty much just copied and pasted from the old website with a few small changes. It's really not well done and eventually I'll completely rewrite it all... when I find the time!

Let me know what you think of the site! I'm eager to keep adding to it and hopefully my effort can help continue to build the following for this wonderful organization!!

Any of the Harry Potter movies could easily be considered one of my favorite movies of all time. I don't know what it is about the series or the concept or what, but I love the wizards, witches, spells, and "the flying and the magic" (Old School reference). So now that the entire series of Harry Potter movies is over, I have to post my rankings from best to worst:

#8 - Chamber of Secrets
The Bad: There is nothing in this movie that *doesn't* drive me crazy. Touching on the obvious: Ron whines the entire time about spiders and barely contributes, I hate the side-story of Ron's possessed car, and Hermione is disabled half the movie from the Basilisk. On top of that, Gilderoy Lockhart is obnoxiously incompetent. It was also annoying that all the victims of the basilisk saw the snake's eyes through some mirror or reflection conveniently avoiding death. And if all those things weren't enough, the worst part was Tom Riddle narrating at the end. The first couple movies had this incessant need to narrate what happened to it's viewers, probably because it was targeting younger viewers. Watch the movie again and tell me it's not ridiculous though. Example: Tom Riddle: "Your Phoenix may have blinded the basilisk but it can still hear you." Thanks captain obvious.
The Good: In the context of the first two movies, I didn't understand the horcrux book or basilisk fang, but it all makes sense now which is awesome. I also liked how Lucious Malfoy planted the book on Ginny. Dobby and the phoenix save this movie, they were both rockin.

#7 - Order of the Phoenix
The Bad: I don't think I've ever hated anything more than Dolores Umbridge. It's really her giggle. My brain goes into a mini-fit of rage when I hear it. There is nothing she did in this movie that didn't drive me up the wall. She single-handedly brought this movie down to #7. Cornelius Fudge, for being the Minister of Magic, is frustratingly ignorant. It would have been a much better story to have him operating under the Imperio curse. But no, he's just the highest wizard in the world and a complete moron. I also was annoyed by Voldemort entering Harry's brain so often. He came off as a weakling.
The Good: Dumbledore was a rock star in the end, taking on Voldemort and making him go away. Luna Lovegood played a pretty big role in this movie and you can't help but love her innocence. Along that line, it was the first time when Ginny started coming off as a strong woman and Neville a confident, brave man, and that was refreshing. The fight in the end where Sirius died was pretty awesome, even though Sirius dies.

#6 - Deathly Hallows Part I
The Bad: Does it need to be said? Part I. You can't help but feel as though this movie ended unsatisfactorily. Also, who would enjoy seeing the hero of the movie, Dobby, killed in the end. Dobby was so innocent, noble, kind, and humble, and in the end he gets nothing but a knife to the chest. I hated that Ron got jealous of Harry and Hermione and went MIA for most of the movie.
The Good: The way Hermione narrated the story of the Deathly Hallows and the way it was explained was absolutely phenomenal, they couldn't have done better. I loved how they used non-magic ways, like walking and hiking to get from one place to another. And their constant spells to protect their location and ways they destroyed horcuxes was really cool too. But in the end, the best part of the movie was Dobby and him saving the day in the end.

#5 - Half Blood Prince
The Bad:  Dumbledore dying in the end was an expected downer for this one. You can't have this be at the top of the movie list and have Dumbledore die at the same time. Horace Slughorn is a weak man and I guess characters like that are needed around all the awesome ones, but they tend to get in the way.
The Good: It was like Batman & Robin the entire movie with the way Dumbledore and Harry worked together. Ron never gets the chance to be the hero and seeing him succeed at quidditch without any magical help was refreshing. I also loved the sexual tension between Ginny and Harry, they are growing up.

#4 - Prisoner of Azkaban
The Bad:  The entire series, Voldemort has wanted to kill Harry Potter and suddenly someone else who wants to kill him (on top of all the death eaters) is somehow a threat? Lupin has been a werewolf his entire life, how is it just now a problem that he turns into one? I thought the dude had medicine or magic to counteract it. And the whole wormtail-death situation (or lack thereof) bothered me. They have all the magic in the world and can't tell that wormtail never died and is instead still a rat? It was also annoying that Harry was portrayed as weak because of the Dementors.
The Good: Love the progression throughout the movie of Harry's expecto patronum. I tend to think that time-travel makes absolutely no sense in movies, but I really enjoyed how they tied it all together in this one. It was annoying how Hermione was MIA half the movie, but I liked finding out in the end what she was actually up to. Near the end, you see Harry saved by the image across the river sending an expecto patronum. He thought it was his Dad, but it was sweet how that turned out to be himself. Hermione punched Malfoy in the face, boo yeah! And lastly, the use of the Marauder's Map was awesome.

#3 - Sorcerer's Stone
The Bad: They are still just new kids on the movie scene and the acting is pretty bad. I'd like to count the number of times Hagrid says "I shouldn't have told you that", as if he's our very own narrator throughout the movie. Were the challenges that were blocking access to the Sorcerer's Stone really that hard? For first years, sure. But they should have been simple for professors or older wizards. And once again Dumbledore had to take 10 minutes at the end of the movie and explain everything.
The Good: Have you noticed how amazing the music is in this movie? The music was so awesome, they continued using the same tracks all the way through movie #8. Phenomenal. That alone is enough for me. But this is what started it out. It was a great introduction to the series. This series is complicated enough, but they managed to show entire first movie with very few loose ends. "Yer a wizard, Harry". You had me at wizard.

#2 - Goblet of Fire
The Bad: What is with Harry's mullet? He needs a haircut badly.
The Good: There is almost nothing to dislike in this movie. From the beginning with the port key and the Quidditch World Cup, this movie was amazing. There isn't a guy in the world who saw this movie and wasn't slightly turned on by the entrance into the hall by the girls of Beauxbatons Academy. Krum, Delacour, and Diggory were formidable foes in the ridiculously awesome Triwizard Tournament and I loved the challenges that were given to them. The end wrapped up well too with Diggory dying and Harry barely escaping. Everything about this movie was awesome and it would be at the top of my list if it weren't for Part II.

#1 - Deathly Hallows Part II
The Bad: It's over.What was with the massive ogres in the fight outside Hogwartz? I don't recall reading that.
The Good: You can tell a movie is good when you never look at the time. This movie FLEW. It lived up to my expectations as well as it could have. Dobby was the hero in Part I and Neville Longbottom captured Part II. Has any character come as far as Neville? He was the meager and helpless "Why does it always happen to me" character in the first movie, and here he is standing tall in front of Voldemort to laugh in the face of the death eaters and destroying the last of the horcruxes. I loved how they took Snape from the most hated man in the world to Harry Potter's ace-in-the-hole within seconds. All the fighting was awesome and while I hate seeing characters die, they really killed off the right number of people in the end. And finally, I liked that they used the actual people in the 20 years later scene at the end. Ron and Draco make the best looking older people. Harry and Hermione just look like they are playing dress-up.

I can't wait until the last movie comes out on DVD so I can watch it over and over like I have all the others. Harry Potter may be looked at like a series just for kids, and that's fine. But to me it's one of the greatest stories ever constructed, from start to finish. This may sound dramatic, but I will cherish it forever.

I'm watching the Harry Potter series all week to get ready for the last one that comes out on Friday. I couldn't be more sad and excited at the same time. I'd say more sad because I do not want to see the movies end. I will definitely be sitting there in the theatre thinking "this is it... this is the end." Sure I'm excited to see how the ending is portrayed, but most likely, we will never see new Harry Potter content released in a theatre :(.

Well usually the Summer is reserved for lots of movie watching with all the terrible TV shows out and good shows in re-runs. But I think we're actually watching fewer movies. I don't know why. Are these movie reviews worth while? Just curious.

Here are the movies we watched in June:

• The Good Shepherd (2006) - 1 star - I never thought Matt Damon could appear in a bad movie. He's always awesome, but holy crap was this a wretched movie. It DID NOT need to be 3 hours. 
• 127 Hours (2010) - 5 stars - I thought this movie was going to be boring. I was surprised how interesting they kept the movie despite the fact that it's about this dude who is trapped for 127 hours. The ending is graphic so beware, but the movie is well worth it. We enjoyed it a lot. Plus it was one of the first movies I've ever seen in Blu-ray, so that helped.
• Repo Men (2010) - 3 stars - Mediocre action movie. I thought it'd be graphic and difficult to watch, but it wasn't that bad. I really like Forest Whitaker.
• Made of Honor (2008) - 3 stars - This was a cute and predictable romantic comedy, although they always are.
• Couples Retreat (2009) - 4 stars - I purposefully had this shipped to us a second time through Netflix. Combine a funny plot, good actors, and great views of the tropics, and this is a good movie to watch. 
• Knight and Day (2010) - 4 stars - It was impressive how much action was in this movie. It was just non-stop, possibly more than a Bond movie. We really enjoyed it.
• The Queen (2006) - 3 stars - Wow did this movie try and change your opinion of the royal family. They painted The Queen as being controlling and paranoid and the Princess Diana as being out of control and flaky. The only person that came off well is British Prime Minister at the time Tony Blair and possibly Prince Charles. It's worth a watch though for anyone interested in learning more about the royal family.
• The Dilemma (2011) - 4 stars -I'm in love with Vince Vaughn. His comedy is hilarious to me, the way he uses his fast talk and sarcasm. If you like Vince, then this won't disappoint.
• Beer Wars (2009) - 5 stars - Who knew the beer industry had so much drama? I was surprised to learn about all the money the big beer companies like Miller, Bud, and Coors spend on government lobbying. I also am making an effort to never buy beer from them again and instead support the micro-breweries. The whole system is corrupt and it's infuriating to see what the big companies will do to crush the little guys. I highly recommend this documentary.
• I.O.U.S.A (2008) - 5 stars - This would be a great documentary if it were up to date, but as it is, it's based on 2008 numbers. Although it's hilarious to hear their concern about the debt and deficit in this country when it was only 8 trillion in 2008. Now it's up to 14 trillion. Our country is screwed, there is no politician or political party that will fix this mess.
• A Simple Twist of Fate (1994) - 3 stars - The end of this movie is infuriating. Custody of a child should not come down to who is richer than the other. Maybe I'm naive?

"This is the first time I have ever seen you not able to put a book down." -Liz

I've never really cared for books. I am a very slow reader and wretched at reading comprehension. Often times I'll say things like "Yeah, I read about that, I can't recall the exact information, but it was about this topic" ... good story loser. But this book kept my attention.

While in Seattle and browsing around the race expo we came upon a guy in a booth. His name is Dane Rauschenberg and he was promoting his book (which is the title of this blog post). In 2006 he decided to run an official marathon every single weekend of the year. He traveled all around the U.S. running races. On the weekend before Christmas, when no races anywhere were scheduled, he even organized his own sanctioned marathon with 21 other official runners in order to maintain his streak. He successfully finished the 52 marathon challenge and averaged a pace of 3:20 no less.

This story, this challenge, just absolutely intrigued me. It actually made me jealous for 3 reasons. I love setting sweet challenges like this that are difficult, I'd love to have the means to actually attempt to achieve goals of that caliber, and I want to stand up and conquer challenges that difficult. So as I was standing there listening to him, I got out some money and went up and talked to him. I told him about my Man vs. Machine challenge from last August and told me about his next big challenge. He is going to run from Titusville, PA to Titusville, FL. OK, I definitely wasn't jealous of that.

He signed a book and off I went. I didn't start reading it until we got back to Cincinnati, but I met Dane one more time. Dead tired and walking like a zombie, I made my way through the mile 24 out and back part of the marathon. All of a sudden, from a person passing me on the way back, I heard "Happy Birthday Mike! 2 more miles and you'll feel better!". I turned because it was a different birthday wish than I had before, and it was Dane running by. He had remembered my name. I don't think he was an official runner that weekend because I can't find his information in the race results, so I'm guessing he was just motivating a friend. And of course, he didn't look tired.

I finished the book in about 6 days between Cincinnati and home. I couldn't stop reading it. Dane writes like he's talking to you and uses humor well in the book, so it was a really easy read. He went through how he became a runner, his struggles in getting faster, and then went into detail about all 52 races. It was interesting to hear his opinion of different races, especially ones that I've run before like the Marine Corp Marathon and the Hatfield & McCoy Marathon (I did the half).

There are a few things I learned from his experiences though:

•  I can't run a marathon every 6 months and expect improvement. Sure marathons are hard, but if I want improvement, I need to run more of them. 
• Smaller races seem better than bigger races. Sure bigger races have better expo's and "swag". But in smaller races you'll feel more competitive, less crowded, and more likely to place in your age group.
• Running the same race over and over again is silly. Going to different races, different states, different climates is a great way to grow as a runner.
• Being a member of the "50 States Marathon Club" is something I aspire to do.
• Some of the more popular races are not all they are cracked up to be.

So I realize this book will not be for everyone. If you don't run, you probably won't enjoy it as much as I did. If you are a runner, it will certainly make you laugh and keep you interested. Although halfway through you start getting immune to how awesome he is. Week after week he is smoking these races running faster than I ever have before, but I kept catching myself thinking "Wow, just a 3:26? That was slow." But it wasn't just his times that were awesome, it was clear that he's a great person as well. This whole "stunt" was done for the sake of charity which he ended up raising $44K throughout the year. You can read more about it in his book if you like.

To say his book motivates me is an understatement. Right now I'm in a transition period trying to get my weight down before I start running more marathons again, but I'm hoping to start running races around October or November again. I have a few in mind that I'd like to race.

I do have the Blue Ridge Relay to run again in September, but that has been planned forever and I'm definitely running that no matter what. I have a blog post coming soon about that race too!!

For any local runner friends, let me know if you'd like to borrow it.

Yeah OK, it wasn't that big of a deal, but Liz is excited about it, and that's all that matters.

We're beginning to renovate our kitchen by peeling off the laminate from the cabinets and painting them and yadda yadda yadda. Well we wandered around Lowe's today and Liz realized something she really wanted that we could install in the kitchen, one of those Pull Out Kitchen Sink Crap Holder Thing. That's my name for it. I think the box's official named though is "Sink Front Tray".

So I went to town and installed it when we get home. Here is the before picture. Notice the laminate still on it and the wood is completely nailed into the cabinet.

Liz got motivated this morning and peeled off the rest of the laminate from all the other cabinets so we are gearing up for a big Lowe's trip where we'll get all our supplies. I also have some wood working to do for the kitchen too so I need to get started on that. Liz is starting to make a honey-do list. Bring it!

Man, I have so many blog posts to make...

My main reason for running the Seattle Marathon last week was because it was my 30th birthday. When we planned the trip, I figured there is nothing more awesome than doing something awesome on such a big day in your life. 30 years old is a considerable birthday, I'll admit.

Well anyone who knows me, also knows I don't like celebrating birthdays. I don't like the attention and I think it takes egotism to seek it on your birthday. I tend to think people who want to be treated like kings or queens on this one day, would probably have it that way the other 364 days of the year if they had their choice. It's just not an appealing behavior to me and I'd rather just not be bothered. I don't need a day to celebrate myself, the concept just sounds ridiculous.

So the night before the marathon, as I'm preparing all my things and getting my race outfit together, Liz busts out one more birthday present for me. It was a race shirt that was slightly different from the one I intended on running with. Needless to say, it took some convincing and time before I relented in wearing it during the race. Unfortunately, the only pictures we have are not of a high quality. So these will have to do.

Somehow Seattle sounds even cooler with the word Washington on the end. I don't know why.

We finally got back from our really long trip on Monday and boy did we have fun. We drove to Cincinnati, flew to Seattle for a week, flew back to Cincinnati, stayed there over the July 4th weekend, and then drove back. We spent the entire weekend with our friends John and Allie (our nomadic friends, basically from NC) and had a fantastic time.


Seattle during the Summer is really awesome. The climate is my cup of tea. It may be cloudy most of the time and it may have rained a misty rain for a few minutes every day while we were there, but the temperature was between 50 and 70 the entire time. That to me is perfect weather.

I was blown away by the beauty

We arrived in Seattle on a Wednesday morning. We spent that day over on Bainbridge Island just walking around and hanging out. It would have been nice had not everything been under construction. Thursday and Friday of the trip we did as much site seeing as possible. Went to Pikes Place Market, Seattle Center (which includes the Space Needle, Science Museum, and EMP building), the marathon race expo, and went on our Argosy Locks Tour of Lake Union, the Puget Sound, and Elliot Bay.


To be honest, if we were to do it again, I would not go to the Science Museum or the EMP building. They were OK and all, but if I lived in Seattle, I'd probably not go there at all. I don't think tourists should go to a place where the locals don't go. If I lived in Seattle, I'd absolutely go to the Space Needle every now and then when I'm in the city, go on the ferries or harbor tours every now and then, or go to a Mariners game. I have little to no interest in the Raleigh Art Museum or Science Whatever, so I don't think it should be a tourist attraction for unsuspecting visitors. Also they are more geared toward keeping kids entertained and that doesn't apply to us.

"Sleepless in Seattle house! Sleepless in Seattle house!"

On Saturday was our races, the Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. Liz rocked the half. She was aiming to beat 2:20. Her previous best was around 2:47 and she ended up finishing in 2:16. She was very dedicated to her training and it was wonderful to see her hard work pay off. She ran the whole thing and even finished at a faster pace than she started. I wish I could have been there when she crossed the line. I on the other hand didn't exactly rock the full marathon. I ran 16 miles in the pace I was hoping for (about 2:15 or so) but it all went down from there. My pace dropped to about 10 minutes a mile and then I had to start the walking/running routine at mile 19 bringing my pace to about 12 or 13 minutes per mile. I just barely limped across the line in a time of 4:01. It's not awful, and is technically my 2nd best marathon out of the 5 I've done, but I was hoping for better. I will do better.


The rest of the day Saturday was spent napping and eating. We went to the Pyramid Brewery and met Corey (friend from college) and some other friends who were in the area. Sunday we went to the Aquarium and Pikes Place Market again, and the Zoo. I'll go ahead and lump the aquarium and the zoo into the same category as the Science Museum. Not worth it. The aquarium was surprisingly average for being near the ocean. Then that night we went to a Mariners game. Major League Baseball games are always a blast and Safeco Field did not disappoint. We really enjoyed our seats, even though they were the cheapest in the park. Also the Mariners won in extra innings, so that helped too. I'm sportin' my new Seattle Sounders jacket. I finally have an MLS team to barely pay attention to.


Monday we went on a 10 hour tour of Mt. Rainier National Park. The tour took us the entire way around the park, up to Paradise Inn and the highest point you can drive, and then back around the mountain to Seattle again. The mountain is very impressive and the amount of snow up there this time of year was surprising. There was a good 20 feet of snow on the ground in some places. Our tour guide said that in a month, all the snow would be gone at that elevation. Between the mountain, the glaciers, the trees and the trails, there really was no end to the beauty of this park. I think one day I want to hike/run the Wonderland Trail. It's 93 miles around the mountain. Who's up for it?


The best part of our tour, and it's surprising now that I'm saying this after looking at the pictures again, was our tour guide Brian. 10 hours of listening to one person talk is A LOT. But this guy was funny, engaging, and just a pleasant person to learn from. He even played trivia games on the bus on the (what is supposed to be) boring drive back to Seattle. Start to finish, he was a joy. If you are ever in Seattle and are interested in the tour company we used, it was "Tours Northwest" and here is the link, as if you don't know how to use Google.


Mark Seattle down as one of those places we'd be willing to move if the situation ever arrived. I would have a hard time getting over my fear of earthquakes or volcanoes, but I think I'd be willing to brave the elements for more time in Awesomeness, Washington.


If you'd like to see more pictures of our trip, check them out here.


I have to include one more picture. There was a massive snow slide that someone carved out... so we took advantage. The snow took advantage and made my butt wet the rest of the day. It was well worth it.

The challenge is simple and I came about it simply as well. Last weekend after stuffing my face following the marathon, Liz and I were talking and she said "you get burgers far too often at restaurants". Now I wouldn't say it is "all the time", but I certainly don't stick to the "happy-meat" rules that she does.

Well she followed up that statement by saying: "I challenge you to go one month without a burger".

I am not one to back down from a challenge (that is manageable). So I responded with: "Throw in the fries too and we've got a deal".

Her response: "DEAL!" We shook on it.

I think I eat fries way more often than burgers, almost every time we go to a restaurant in fact! So the challenge is, no burgers and fries for the whole month of July with the exception that I can have a burger as long as it's happy meat from the farm. To be honest, that basically means never because we only ever make tacos with our ground beef  from the farm.

Now I have to admit, we weren't thinking about the challenge at all yesterday (July 1st) and I had fries with my lunch. SOOOO, with the challenge fresh in my mind, it begins today (July 2nd) and will end August 2nd.

I am reading a new book right now that is lighting a fire under me and I am not messing around anymore with this running/dieting thing. I can't be running marathons at my weight, I just can't. I'll blog about the book when I'm done reading it, but it's the motivation I've needed to get my butt in gear (health-wise). This July Challenge is one way to help me accomplish that.